At various points, five-star centers Dereck Lively II and Adem Bona were at the top of Kentucky’s recruiting board in the class of 2022. With UK putting the full-court press on both — first Lively, then Bona, with a brief overlap where the Wildcats flirted with the idea of bringing them in together — mutual interest was significant.
In fact, Kentucky was one of two remaining finalists for both prospects.
For Lively, it “definitely did” come down to Duke and Kentucky during the home stretch of his recruitment.